Kether's barrage of gunfire and propensity of ensuring that nothing was left untouched was without a doubt, an annoyance of the most citywide scale possible. Add in with a dash of territorial protection of sorts, and the end result is a 'prophet' who has the relentless desire of shooting students who dare gets any more closer than they should.

And with a size like that, normal people usually try to evade at all costs.

Unfortunately for Kether, these were students who had more than a few screws loose. Namely.

"ORRAAAAAA!!!" Neru was an initiator like no other, taking hold of the barrel of the flak cannon and wrapping it around with the chains attached to the ends of her dual submachine guns. Her guns, subsequently, were aimed and fired directly at the drones that attempted to fix up Kether, making sure that any part that tries to even recover any aspect of Kether was brought down by the sheer disbelief of quantity called bullets.

Asuna was close by, laughing in glee while Kether persistently tried to open fire at her. Missiles, bullets, all sorts and all the ammunition galore. Yet, not a single one had the capability to even land a hit, with her deftly dodging them.

Many would call this 'being lucky'. Kivotos simply thinks Asuna was just that good. It didn't help matters of course, when she was simply waltzing around in her bunny suit as she fired at the legs till the wires sparked lead.

PS68 had long crashed their helicopter. Because of course they did. Exhausting their missiles and the minigun's bullets against the masses of goliaths and sweeper tasers, followed up by the ever relentless decagram droids wielding energy based riot shields and guns, it was natural that the helicopter would get damaged.

Since they were also the most reckless, they were the main focus.

Yet, the helicopter should have survived. The only reason they crashed was simply--

"Why did you have to extend the flight to the point that the Black Hawk ran out of fuel..." Kayoko exasperatedly questioned rhetorically, taking cover in a concrete rubble while peeking every so often to shoot her suppressed P30, each bullet hitting bullseye to the decagram droids.

"An optimal strategy, boss. Very optimal~" Cooed a Mutsuki, her M60 rested on the rubble as cover before, throwing her duffel bag as far as she could. The very moment it landed, she flicked a switch in hand. "Made the whole Black Hawk go--"

KABOOM!!

Too many robotic parts rained down the battlefield, the march of robots and AI halted to process the damage incurred by the single duffel bag of explosives.

Delayed procession. Just enough time for them to notice yet another concrete building crushing down on them too late.

"My, I wish that was property damage-free," Akane stated, half-playful, perhaps half-serious.

Karin sighed through the comms.

"Focus. Kether isn't going down any time soon. Their armor is getting harder to break through," she stated, loading yet another anti-tank round after dispensing one out seconds ago. Piles of bullet cases surrounded her, a result of her relentless effort to bring down Kether. Its initial stage of constant replaceable armor made it impenetrable in a different sense. Now, with Neru constantly driving drones down or driving Kether around like it was Neru's plaything, it brought another issue of aiming properly to the fray.

Veritas, on their part, continued the their part.

Funnily enough, only Kotama was allowed to stay in their little coven of technology. Every other member of the club were dragged or convinced or both to come along to the battlefield, yet all collectively agreed on one thing.

Their framework for hacking was unquestionable.

Maki's propensity of cracking through the weak firewalls and spreading the virus to turn the goliaths and taser sweepers against each other was simply child's play. The decagram droids naturally opened fire at the helicopter at any chance they had, but then they face the wrath of a horde of cubic shockers that fried their circuits at multiple contacts.

"This is too easy," Maki stated in boredom.

"Try hacking the decagrams. Make it entertaining for you," Chihiro suggested, firing down the droids in short bursts of her M27.

"Nah, they're too generic. What do you think, Hare?"

The question was posed towards the one individual focused in collecting parts down below, cans of energy drinks undoubtedly laced with caffeine in pockets of her white lab coat.

She was drinking one right now, as a matter of fact, before she singlehandedly formed what seemed to be a working battery source.

"I don't care."

Simplicity at its finest, as she proceeded to plug it into Aris's railgun.

"MP recovered! Thank you, healer!" Aris proclaimed, a salutation of sorts following soon after. Hare weakly saluted back, before slowly wedging herself away from the battlefield. Soon, Aris's railgun charged itself up again.

So far, she launched only a single full blast just some minutes ago. Everyone thought she got it. Everyone truly believed that Aris's shot could just destroy Kether right then and there.

Its armor was shredded by the sheer impact of the energy beam. It skittered across the concrete ground, crashing into more buildings. For a moment, everyone thought she got it.

But it twitched, like an insect regaining consciousness. And then, missiles rained down on Aris's location from its back, propelling itself back to its feet while the drones replaced its armor and armaments.

It was a tenacious 'prophet', filled with too much burrowing personality that bordered on insanity.

But this was Kivotos. Insanity was its love language.

And this time, Aris needed to actually be patient.

A small charging handle was pulled, and the railgun hummed to life. Ordinarily, Kether would have her dead to rights.

But the sheer audacity of Neru, the terrorizing firepower of a single RABBIT Platoon owned Black Hawk, and the severe lack of proper reinforcement from Chesed's mass produced decagram droids and taser sweepers overloaded its personal AI's capacity of priority.

The air crackled, as energy was absorbed in sheer efficacy. The railgun glowed brightly, with Aris gritting her teeth. Her left leg moved back, her body lurched forward in sheer preparation for the recoil that would ensure in the incoming shot.

"Oh, one more thing."

Hare seemingly made her inglorious return, just to stack yet another energy source stored in a destroyed exoskeleton of what was once the cubic taser sweeper. And if that wasn't enough, Hare simultaneously managed to plug it directly into Aris's railgun.

Overkill truly was a necessity, after all.

The sheer input amplified, with Aris's eyes widening by the second. For two seconds, she was stunned by the sudden intensity of firepower, only to slowly heaved out a single breath.

For Rio.

For Millennium.

For that other Sensei she never truly knew but now wants to.

She pulled the charging handle the whole way.

And she pushed the button.

For one full second, the world went dark.

In another second, a blue diagonal pillar pierced through the clouds.

—

And yet, many minutes ago, a different story was being made.

Arius had always been a district that made sure their combat prowess was never dulled.

With several helicopters flying over Kether, Saori dangled over the edge, glancing at Atsuko, who piloted the Black Hawk.

"That thing isn't our target, is it?" She questioned. She, and Arius Squad all wore ear mufflers and microphones attached to it to allow clear communication between the members, especially considering how the wind and the sheer noise of the blade rotors would typically cause too much noise to allow normal communication to even pass through them.

"No, it's not," Atsuko confirmed, as more helicopters flew slightly closer together. Kether, still firing away its cannons, was soon brought to another stagger by raining missiles, be it from the ground, or from the air.

Atsuko, for that matter, gripped onto the controls tightly. A little too tight for the comfort of her co-pilot, Misaki.

"It's... Just like the simulations, right?" Atsuko stated softly.

"I don't think the simulations told you to grip the controls like your life depends on it," Misaki retorted, but considering how everything is?

She had a valid reason as to why she was holding it.

"Boss, our main objective's in sight!" Amaya called out from the intercoms.

"Tell me something I don't know, Nocturne Leader," Saori replied, eyes focused. Everyone else soon followed as well.

Their collective focus? The factory at the outskirts of the ruin, Chesed, where a constant stream of sweeper tasers and goliaths poured out.

Arius was quick to notice that the ones in the ruins were turning back and tasing each other. A near confusing sight, but the implication was clear.

Veritas hackers, she was sure. Surprising they could even do that against Decagrammaton's technology. She chalked it up to these bots not having the same firewall measures than the others.

"Ready up!" Saori called out. "Chesed more than likely have prepared defensive measures, so ready the grenade launchers to disable them! Misaki, front point!"

"Really? Don't we have missiles?"

"Don't you have missiles?"

"... What??? I meant the Black Hawk, Saori."

"I know. But your Stinger missiles count too, don't they?"

"S-Saori. You can't simply tell me to launch my Stinger missiles while we're IN the Black Hawk."

"Do you doubt me?"

"I have every reason to."

"... Fair enough." Saori clicked her tongue. "When we rappel down, I need you to fire your missiles towards the turrets. Buy some time."

"Now that sounds more feasible."

"Hiyori."

"Hueh?" Hiyori was in the middle of assembling her anti-material rifle from her large case. A long, nearly unwieldy piece of weaponry held solely by a single girl.

"You'll snipe out the Decagram droids if they ever try."

"Okay, just give me a some time to get this all set u--"

"Nocturne Squad, prepare to rappel. Sky Squad, Cloud Squad, prepare for evasive maneuvers and missiles!"

"Boss, what about the miniguns?" Asked an Arius student in the comms.

There was silence, as if it was a pause for effect. And then, an answer.

"Light them up."

No one needed to protest. They already know what they're fighting for, anyway.

Their ghost may be down there, but having the honors of taking down a so-called 'prophet'? Now that's a badge to Arius's newly stained wall of achievements.

They only hoped that PS68 didn't fumble to get their ghost to safety.

—

The Foreclosure Task Force didn't say much through the comms, while a GSC member flew the Black Hawk for them.

Ayane may be jeep driver certified, but helicopters had a different functionality and fundamentals.

"FTF, we're reaching Chesed's factory soon. Get ready to rappel," Miyako proclaimed, looking their way. While she desired to head into battle with them, she believed she had better priority. Seen more prevalently when she looked down to her smartphone.

A radiating pulse on the map close by. That was her, and most of RABBIT Platoon's priority.

"Hm." Shiroko's silent agreement was followed by a collective nod by the rest, as they latched onto the rappelling rope.

They were here not for glory. They were here to repay a debt they wanted to pay for the Replacement Sensei.

... No.

He's a Sensei in their eyes, too.

"Hurry it up, kay? I can't refuel in the sky," Moe commented, even as the very skin of her thumb skimmed against the very bright red button on the Black Hawk's control wheel. The same button to launch the missiles.

"......."

They shouldn't comment on that.

And soon, they jumped, the zipping sounds in relational speed of their fall soon culminating in them standing on hard steel. A glance to the other side, and they spotted Arius landing alongside them. RABBIT Platoon followed up soon after, only that they head off to another direction. Right into the ruins.

But their steps were purposeful. As if a path was already laid out to them.

"FTF!" Called out Saori from the comms.

"We hear ya~" Hoshino cooed, just as her riot shield extended out to its fullest form.

"Where's the tall one?"

"Oh, Shiroko Terror?" Hoshino made a thinking noise, before a slight laugh left her. "She'll be here soon. She's like the uhh... Cavalry."

They watched as Hiyori heaved her NTW-20 into her arms, and start clumsily running with the rest of the members of Arius. A few blinks commenced.

"... Don't mind her. She's locked in."

"Oh. Okay."

Not that FTF had any complaints, considering how Nonomi carried a Gatling gun in the fray. But still.

An anti-material rifle was a bit of an overkill.

And then they reminded themselves of what they were up against.

Overkill was necessary.

Just as they began their approach, the factory began to tear itself open. Its walls caved to reveal turrets aimed towards both students and Black Hawks, its barrels beginning its charge. From within, decagrams of humanoid shaped robots bursted out. Faceless, armored in army green, black, and white plating from head to toe, with a singular glint of tempered glass down the middle of its facial plating. Their weapons seemed advance, but time and experience had told FTF that their weaponry is barely as advanced as the creation of assault rifles.

It was the flying drones that resembled roombas equipped with dual barrels that fire as quick as submachine guns that was a bigger issue.

Brittle, but fast.

Closer observation revealed something that they were uncomfortable saying out loud.

Millennium's emblem latching to their armor. Signs of failed creations that Decagrammaton took use of.

And now used against them.

Unfortunately, FTF and Arius had no propensity for such sentimental value.

They opened fire first.

Arius initiated the battle, with Nocturne Squad open firing at the approaching horde of decagram droids, while approaching the factory like it was a walk in the park. The helicopters made evasive maneuvers

All according to plan.

"Arius Squad, FTF, head in, now!"

Amaya's exclamation was followed by the pull of her Glock 19's slide, before it burst bullets of 9mm straight towards the shield of a decagram shield.

The two teams said nothing, as they slipped into the factory, layers upon layers of relentless ceasing to notice their existence to focus solely on the threats outside.

The gunshots faded. The explosions audibly dimmed. And then, nothing but the hum of machinery, working ever so refined to ensure their production continued endlessly.

Arius and FTF's answer were to simply place C4 and high grade explosives.

There were no spoken words from any of them. Just hand signs as they made their way through the maze of madness and discarded tech, repurposed into something malicious.

And then, in the maze of vents that was oddly shaped to fit them and their weapons, they finally saw it.

Chesed.

The spherical 'prophet' floating in its own scape, with droids surrounding it at every passing moment. Well intended to protect. And they will. Crackles of yellow electricity faintly surrounded it, like a forcefield of sorts.

But experience fueled Millennium.

Action was Arius's language.

And hardship was the price Abydos paid.

All three combined to form the two teams that laid before them.

Saori signaled for the rest to wait in the vent, before she kicked the vent blocker out of its hinges, followed by her throwing the vent blocker itself to a droid, open firing before taking cover behind a wall.

As soon as she did, the droids immediately approached her, firing away with merciless volume, but just enough time for the rest to get out of the vent.

Just enough time for Nonomi to whirr her Gatling gun before she opened fire, wiping clean of the droids in record time. The remainder of the squad managed to squeeze out of the vent, before quickly approaching Chesed.

"......"

The geometrical shape may as well have an eye with how it seemed to look in their direction, testing the waters, or so it seemed.

"We have to shoot it down."

"Yeah, good luck getting through that thing," Misaki retorted, loading her Stinger missiles, before suddenly, they sensed a pulse.

Not exactly an electromagnetic pulse. Their electronics still worked here. But it was something el--

Serika grimaced in pain as bullets rained down upon her. Scratches and tears dominated her school uniform, followed by gunfire straight to the ceiling above.

Tester drones zoomed down, blasting lead to the two squads who invaded Chesed's factory.

"Serika-chan!" Hoshino was quick to move, shielding her from further damage, with which was immediately followed up her shooting Chesed.

It barely dented its armor. She clicked her tongue.

"Hey, you two. Think you can shoot it?"

She received no response, just a collective step back while the walls slowly flipped inwards to reveal turrets, raised, aimed and certainly locked on, with drones, droids and goliaths all approaching in a menace that was more relentless than it ever was.

"..."

They were virtually screwed.

But they weren't out of options--

The ceiling caved in.

A huge chunk of steel smashed down onto several goliaths, with a single girl in a bustier dress kneeling on the chunk.

Arius Squad blinked. Foreclosure Task Force celebrated.

The cavalry has arrived.